Bird lovers on Saturday can help scientists track migrating flocks by joining an all-day bird count at one of the South Florida Water Management District’s man-made, pollution-filtering treatment marshes on the edge of sugar cane country.

The sixth-annual bird count on Sept. 17 at Stormwater Treatment Area 5, 20 miles south of Clewiston, helps scientists monitor the health of migrating bird populations.

Teams of volunteers plan to cover 8 square miles of the treatment area, which uses aquatic plants to filter phosphorus and other pollutants out of stormwater that flows off agricultural fields.

Last year’s count totaled 17,500 birds and 110 species.

In addition to cleaning water headed to the Everglades, the district’s more than 40,000 acres of stormwater treatment areas provide a haven for birds and the bird-watchers who follow.

Saturday’s bird count starts at 7 a.m.

South Florida volunteers should be prepared for a long drive.

Volunteers should head to Hendry County and go to the Stormwater Treatment Area 5 gate, located 12 miles south of the intersection of Blumberg Road and County Road 835.

For more information, contact Margaret England of the Hendry-Glades Audubon Society at 863-517-0202 or sta5birding@embarqmail.com.